


suspension bridge effect

by meowcode



Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Gen, M/M, kais a nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 19:18:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13724280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowcode/pseuds/meowcode
Summary: Kai asks an impulsive question, and after a long, and extraordinarily awkward encounter or two, it ends up backfiring just a little.





	suspension bridge effect

**Author's Note:**

> movieverse again bc i love writing movieverse shit in 2 horus when i havent slept in 24 hours apparently. the relationship tag is mostly there bc while i was writing this i was thinking that kais probably trying to impress jay but that didnt come across much in the writing lol

“Do you have bad memories?”

The sound of Jay’s fingers tapping on his phone screen halted. He furrowed his brows, and glanced over at his friend.

“Where’s this coming from?”

Kai shrugged.

“I don’t know, you just…” He paused and thought. Jay was used to Kai enough to know he was trying to find a way to phrase whatever he wanted to say without insulting the person he was talking to. Jay inwardly cringed, and prepared to be insulted anyway.

“You seem so afraid of _everything_.” Is what Kai said, finally. “Lately, I’ve just been wondering if… something happened?”

Another moment passed. The tapping resumed.

“It’s the anxiety. I-I don’t know. I think it’s just me. Like, it’s just- it’s just a part of me, I guess. I don’t know.”

“Just you,” Kai echoed. Jay huffed.

“Why do you want to know? Do _you_ have bad memories?”

“Me?” Kai laughed. “Well, I suppose I do. ...Quite a few actually.”

The sudden shift in tone was enough to jar Jay away from his phone again, this time fully turning to face his companion.

“Oh, well- that’s-” An unexpected answer, for sure. The way the conversation suddenly changed was enough to set off warning bells in Jay’s head, the ones that told him he’d messed up. “Maybe I- I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry.”

Kai could tell he’d worried his friend, and, God, he was never good at calming Jay down when he was anxious - which was often - but it still hurt to know he’d done it.

“No! It’s okay, I mean, I started this. I just,” The red ninja reached up to scratch at his neck sheepishly. “Okay, well, now I feel bad. I guess I’m the one who shouldn’t have asked.”

Though he could tell Kai was trying, this did little to quiet those warning bells.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Jay was mentally beating himself the second he’d finished saying that, but it was too late. Kai swallowed thickly and shrugged again.

“Well, uh… You know, everyone has bad memories. I guess mine are mostly about my parents? Not… about them, just, how they weren’t there? I don’t think about it much.” Kai finally worked up the nerve to look at his friend again, who was adamantly staring down at his phone again, even though he wasn’t doing anything on it. “I guess I just… I just wanted to understand where your fear comes from? I mean, it’s okay to have fears, but lately I’ve been meaning to offer to maybe help you overcome some of them?”

At Jay’s questioning glance, Kai was quick to continue. “Obviously not all of them, but I do think it would be a good idea. You always come through on the battlefield, but I just think it might make everyday life easier for you. But, again, you don’t need to overcome _all_ of them, everyone has fears. Even I have fears!”

Jay makes a mental note that Kai’s awkwardness seems to have cancelled out his anxiety, and decides to butt in on his friend’s rambling.

“You have fears?”

“Yes!” Suddenly, Kai stood up. “And I’ll prove it to you.”

 

“A suspension bridge is an odd place to meet, Kai…”

Kai didn’t seem to hear him. His entire body was tense, he was sweating, pale as a sheet. Jay, on his part, shivered at a gust of wind, pulled his scarf tighter around himself, and wondered if watching Kai now was what it was like to watch himself at any other time.

“Kai?”

“Wow, there sure is… t-turbulent weather today. Haha- Oh, God this is bad-”

“Kai, why are we at a suspension bridge?”

Kai swallowed, finally tearing his gaze away from the bridge to look at his partner.

“I told you! I’m proving to you that even I have fears.”

Jay glanced out over the bridge. It wasn’t particularly rickety, but could use some repairs. Below it, he could hear a stream.

“You’re afraid of bridges?”

“I’m afraid of _heights_.”

“Oh.”

Another long moment, and Jay decided he was tired of standing out in the wind, and also of watching Kai tremble when they weren’t even on the bridge.

“Well, we can go back now-”

“No!” The red ninja took a deep breath. “No, now we have to face part two! Well, I do, anyway.”

“Part… Part two.”

“Yes! I told you, I’m going to help you face your fears, and to do that, I have to prove it’s possible. Look, I’m gonna do it!”

“Y-you really don’t have to do that, Kai-”

“I do! If nothing else, I have to keep my cool image.”

“I don’t recall ever saying I thought you were cool.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Kai waved a hand dismissively at him. “Anyway! Here I go! Just gotta warm up!”

The ‘warm up’ consisted of 3 minutes of Kai running in place, doing some jumping jacks, and then a few pushups. When that was finally over, he let out a determined shout, and started bolting across the bridge. Jay, while kind of inspired, mostly just wondered if Kai knew he was only making the bridge shake more by running like that.

**Author's Note:**

> i imagine that movie jay, while constantly nervous, does tend to get sassier if he's more comfortable around someone


End file.
